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Since the days of Richard Nixon’s presidency, US foreign policy has taken on a variety of themes. Nixon and his National Security Advisor/Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger, formulated the idea of realpolitik, which emphasized the pragmatic geopolitical realities of military and economic power and influence. However, other US chief executives have taken a more abstract approach, like President Jimmy Carter stressing human rights and “moral” diplomacy, or Barack Obama’s multilateralism, building alliances, and pushing diplomacy at all costs. Now, there’s President Donald Trump.
Donald Trump has a different worldview. Iran-backed Houthi terrorists effectively closed the Red Sea to global commerce by attacking international shipping. But then the Iran proxy got a taste of President Trump’s kinetic foreign policy. After 1,100 missions over 52 days of intense US air attacks on the Houthis in Yemen, the anti-ship missile and drone attacks stopped. The Houthis gave up. What is important about Trump’s actions is that the retaliatory US air strikes were not motivated by some Western idealistic zeal but by the goal of re-establishing the economics of free and open global waterways.
The US president’s recent trip to the Middle East displayed, in unmistakable terms, the US foreign policy that will guide America’s international transactions. In a seminal speech in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Trump clarified his vision, saying:
“Before our eyes, a new generation of leaders is transcending the ancient conflicts and tired divisions of the past and forging a future where the Middle East is defined by commerce, not chaos; where it exports technology, not terrorism; and where people of different nations, religions, and creeds are building cities together — not bombing each other out of existence … I am here today not merely to condemn the past chaos of Iran’s leaders, but to offer them a new path and a much better path toward a far better and more hopeful future.”
Trump described the quintessential difference between his worldview and those of past US presidents. He is not interested in attempting to change governments. If Americans really believe that governments exist for and of the people and not the other way round, then Trump takes on foreign nations the way he finds them. If citizens of different countries do not like their governing leadership, it is up to them to change that leadership. “In recent years, far too many American presidents have been afflicted with the notion that it’s our job to look into the souls of foreign leaders and use US policy to dispense justice for their sins … I believe it is God’s job to sit in judgement — my job [is] to defend America and to promote the fundamental interests of stability, prosperity, and peace,” Trump explained in his address to the audience in Riyadh.
“Today in Saudi Arabia, President Donald J. Trump announced Saudi Arabia’s $600-billion commitment to invest in the United States, building economic ties that will endure for generations to come,” a press release from the White House announced. What the US president is doing through his foreign policy is strategically obvious. International commerce is the common denominator linking all the world’s nations. Two countries in conflict do not carry on commerce effectively. Donald Trump wants a Middle East that is at peace. He believes the way to achieve that end is to establish regional prosperity. Countries unwilling to collaborate peacefully, achieve mutually beneficial trade, and build national wealth will be isolated.
The US president made it very clear that he wants to see Iran discard its nuclear ambitions and its sponsorship of terrorist proxies and join in a regional prosperity sphere. Trump explained in the simplest terms that Iran will not be allowed to obtain nuclear weapons, and for Tehran to continue with its support for terrorism through proxies, or in any other way, will not end well for the mullahs. Trump has the advantage of credibility. When taking office for his second term, he immediately reimposed the full weight of the sanctions that Trump 45 had levied, and that brought Iran to its knees.
“On Thursday, Tehran blinked. Top Iranian official Ali Shamkhani said that his country is ready to make a deal with Trump. Under the deal, Iran would agree never to make nuclear weapons and destroy their existing stockpile in exchange for Trump lifting crippling sanctions against Iran,” Just the News reported. The challenge will be to modify the behavior of an ideologically based enemy bent on conquering its neighbors.
Donald Trump’s foreign policy is transactional in order to achieve results. For other administrations, the objective has been to implement a process of globalization, multinationalism, or building alliances. Though positive results were hoped for, little lasting economic or national security value was achieved. Trump’s Global Economic Pragmatism, using economic tools (tariffs, sanctions, and trade deals) and transactional diplomacy, has preserved a demonstrable level of desired US national security and effective foreign policy. Go with what works.
The views expressed are those of the author and not of any other affiliate.